Authority Votes to Suspend Terminal Development Effort in Wake of September 11th Events

Will Also Seek to Halt Sale of Burbank Portion of Lockheed Property, Pending National Actions to Address Security and Financial Uncertainties

BURBANK, Calif., September 27, 2001 — The Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority today voted to place on hold all replacement terminal development activities, including work on an alternate terminal Environmental Impact Report and terminal development on the former Lockheed B-6 property. The Authority also voted to place a hold on further efforts to sell the Burbank portion of the B-6 property, the site that has been under consideration for the relocation of the airport’s airline terminal.

The Burbank City Council previously required sale of the property, which was acquired from Lockheed Martin Corp. in 1999, if the City and the Authority failed to agree on a terminal development plan by May 2000. The Authority will need the City Council’s concurrence to put the sale on hold.

Authority President Chris Holden cited numerous issues that led to the decision, including concerns over airline industry viability, current and future economic impact on Authority finances, and the unknown impact of security measures on airport development design and construction standards.

“We estimate that the Authority will lose between $750,000 and $1 million in operating revenue in September alone, and there are just too many questions without good answers for us to make good judgments on a significant project like the terminal,” said Holden. He noted that Standard & Poors had placed all North American airports on credit watch because of current concerns over airports’ ability to maintain adequate revenue streams to carry their debt.

The Authority voted 5 to 0 in favor of the action, with one commissioner absent. The three commissioners from the City of Burbank abstained.

Holden sent letters to the mayors of Burbank, Glendale and Pasadena advising the three cities of the Authority’s action.

“Like the rest of the nation, the Authority is monitoring the steps being taken by the federal government and the airlines to ensure safe and economically viable aviation. We believe this will be the priority that will engage all of us for the foreseeable future. Until that goal is achieved, the terminal replacement issues that have occupied our attention will have to remain on hold,” he wrote.